“This is going on countrywide,” said Mr Walsh. “This didn’t just happen last weekend, it’s been happening for the last 20 years. But in the last five or six years there’s been so much aggressiveness.”

He said he still had faith in gardai as the “law of the land” but criminals must be prosecuted. He cautioned against using firearms, “in case they’re taken off you and used against you in the heat of the hunt”.

Kerry-based solicitor Deirdre Flynn cautioned that the law on defending your person or property was ill-defined.

The Criminal Law (Defence and the Dwelling) Act 2011 allows a person to use “reasonable force” if they believe they are in danger or that a crime is about to be committed, she said, “but it doesn’t define reasonable force”.

Mr Ward spoke about the ongoing threat facing farmers, even when the stories are not in the headlines.

“Since Patrick’s incident I’ve had those types of people out on my land I’ve had to get the guards… I’ve been threatened.” But he said that farmers were increasingly losing faith in the response from the authorities.

Mr Sherlock added: “It’s like a war zone out there… stand with your brother next door, stand with your neighbour. The neighbour will be there 10 times quicker than the garda will.”